Yvonne wrote:I just heard the news on News 12 NJ, Governor Christie has issued a challenged for politicans to give money to St. Anthony HS. While this is late and perhaps will not help, it is more that our mayor and city government did. At least Christie recognize this special school in our state.

I just heard the news on News 12 NJ, Governor Christie has issued a challenged for politicans to give money to St. Anthony HS. While this is late and perhaps will not help, it is more that our mayor and city government did. At least Christie recognize this special school in our state.

WhoElseCouldIBe wrote:All else being equal (and I know JC Public Schools are not "equal"), I've always thought it was a waste for children to be taking religion classes instead of math, science, technology, history, language, etc.

And I went to Catholic schools. Could have learned so much more during that time.

Maybe it's possible that some parents want an education that discusses and entertains ideas beyond a purely academic one. With that said, St. Anthony's did not raise their tuition throughout the years and were not able to offer or sustain a solid academic program that supported their mission.

WhoElseCouldIBe wrote:All else being equal (and I know JC Public Schools are not "equal"), I've always thought it was a waste for children to be taking religion classes instead of math, science, technology, history, language, etc.

And I went to Catholic schools. Could have learned so much more during that time.

Wow, you went to a Catholic school where they taught religion and neglected science, history, and the arts?

All else being equal (and I know JC Public Schools are not "equal"), I've always thought it was a waste for children to be taking religion classes instead of math, science, technology, history, language, etc.

And I went to Catholic schools. Could have learned so much more during that time.

Mao wrote:The hierarchy hates schools because they take work and require faith. The charter school industry is like heroine to pastors. He closes the school which had been creating a deficit for the parish of say 500,000 yearly. THen he rents it out to a local charter- call the Masonic Ethical Charter School whose values are diametrically opposed to Christianity. What does the pastor care? He now gets $40k per month in rent- income greater than his old deficit. He can pop the Veuve Cliqoue because now he does not even need to curry favor with those pesky parishioners who want to worship God. The pastor can now take even more vacations and ply his boyfriends/victims with bigger gifts. When the Son of Man returns will there be any faith left on earth?

Would you like some vermouth with your bitters?

I'm pretty sure the RCC would prefer to keep schools open and the pews full.

I don't see any signs that schools like the French Academy are a grand violation of Catholic principles.

Mao wrote:Yes, sad, but the fact is the Coach Hurley's basketball empire was attached to a lackluster school. From accounts for students and former teachers, the school was used as a cover for a basketball factory.

I worked with a guy who was a former teacher. He referred to the place as "Basketball School". He quit after being told to repeatedly pass failing students.

Yes, sad, but the fact is the Coach Hurley's basketball empire was attached to a lackluster school. From accounts for students and former teachers, the school was used as a cover for a basketball factory. Sometimes jock culture and help a school attract students and develop morale. Too often it makes academics secondary.The mission of the Catholic school in transmitting and defending the faith of its students and of exposing non Catholic students to the faith in a way to engender interest has been dead since the 1960s. The auto demolition of all the religious and monastic orders is part and parcel of this. The hierarchy hates schools because they take work and require faith. The charter school industry is like heroine to pastors. He closes the school which had been creating a deficit for the parish of say 500,000 yearly. THen he rents it out to a local charter- call the Masonic Ethical Charter School whose values are diametrically opposed to Christianity. What does the pastor care? He now gets $40k per month in rent- income greater than his old deficit. He can pop the Veuve Cliqoue because now he does not even need to curry favor with those pesky parishioners who want to worship God. The pastor can now take even more vacations and ply his boyfriends/victims with bigger gifts. When the Son of Man returns will there be any faith left on earth?

Charter (and magnet) schools have made a dent in private school attendance. Including Catholic schools.

However, that's not the biggest issue. The biggest problem is that tuition has escalated substantially over the years, rising much faster than inflation.

Catholic schools also face escalating competition from well-funded private schools, and demographic changes that result in fewer Catholic kids in urban areas.

That said, I concur with the view that this should not in any way, shape or form be a consideration in developing better public schools. No elected official should be dissuaded from setting up good public schools because it might reduce Catholic school attendance. That doesn't make any sense whatsoever.

One reason why Catholic schools flourished in decades past is that a Catholic education was deemed to be of upmost importance by families. As a child in Hoboken, there were several Catholic elementary schools. As the community changed, families moved away, and schools began closing. The Catholic schools that served the Irish, Italian and Polish communities of decades past in JC are not staying open for a number of reasons, including the changing of the population of JC. As families from non-Catholic backgrounds move in, the need to enroll their kids in the schools dwindles.There is no cookie-cutter reason why schools close- there are so many factors. I agree that St. Anthony's will be missed and no one can question the integrity and dedication of Coach Hurley. What a shame that the school was not able to be saved.

That's my point now and my point in 2005. Improving public schools produces winners and losers. Some of the big winners are parents who don't have to double pay -- taxes AND tuition. Sending my children to LCCS allowed me to save for college.

I had a meeting with Mayor/Assemblyman Doria from Bayonne. He is the one who introduce the bill for Mayor Schundler in Trenton for charter schools. I told him if this goes through two things will happen: Catholic Schools will close and money will leave the public schools. This meeting happened over 20 years ago. Well, guess what, Catholic schools did close and over $60 million each year leave the public schools for charter schools. It is the reason certain programs do not happened in the public schools. The public schools are also short on many resources. You should attend a school meeting and hear the parents and teachers complain about the lack of supplies.

K-Lo2, I am not against public schools, I do not live in a tax abated building. I believe if you live in a tax abated building, you are against public education. However, I believe it was an institution worth helping. What other documentary is made about a school?

Y_____ B_____ writes in today’s letter that charter schools are hurting Catholic schools. Or translated to its most basic terms, good public schools are causing Catholic and other private schools to have to compete for students. Isn’t that what school choice is about? A few years ago, your paper ran a front-page story on the same subject. At that time, you printed my letter in response:

“Let me see if I understand your thesis:

- We can’t have vouchers because those vouchers will destroy the public school system. - We cannot offer better public schools such as public charter schools because they will ruin private Catholic schools. - So we sit on our hands and do nothing.

Are you actually suggesting that we should not improve the public schools in order to save Catholic schools? Why aren’t we celebrating the fact that parents who pay property taxes to support public schools are choosing to send their children to a public school, confident that their children are getting a good education? Why aren’t we shouting from the rooftops that parents who have been scrimping and saving to send their children to private schools now want to send their children to public schools?”

So here we go again. Not more than a week ago, Ken Thorbourne wrote about the excellent performance of some of this city’s fine public charter schools on the standardized state third and fourth grade tests – schools that have beat the city and state averages on state tests not just once, but several years in a row. (Unlike public charter schools, Catholic and other private schools are not required to have their students take these tests so there are no comparable school report cards available.) It is axiomatic that an improvement in public education will put competitive pressure on private schools -- religious and secular. An improvement in our public schools also means that Jersey City is no longer a way station for families on their journey out to the suburbs. It means that public schools such as the Learning Community Charter School (the school my children attend) have wait lists for admission year after year.

Ms. B_____ speaks of the tax burden of public charter schools but public education has always been a tax “burden”. That being said, anyone who bothers to understand the facts knows that public charter schools operate on a much smaller per child allocation from the state than public district schools. In addition, while public district schools are provided housing, public charter schools have no separate funding for buildings and so must pay for housing out of their operational budgets. Talk about a fine and efficient education!

Yvonne wrote:One thing you missed RCResident, I never said to use public funds or public lands. I said the city could have done a fundraiser for them. There are so many negative things associated with inner youth in JC, St. Anthony was a positive thing. In the video on Showtime, you could see how much the youth loved their school. I am sorry it is not available for the next generation. Our youth needs direction and St. Anthony HS gave them that.

Why don't YOU hold a fundraiser for it? Why should the city be fundraising for a private school? If you are so heartbroken about this, why aren't YOU doing something about it? Why isn't the Catholic Church doing a fundraiser? Why aren't St Anthony alumni doing a fundraiser? Why does the city have to do it?

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. I bet if the city were doing a fundraiser for any private institution other than a Catholic-associated one you'd be losing your mind about Fulop wasting our time.

Guess that's limited to passing meaningless gestures, like mandating that every city building have gender neutral bathrooms. Making substantive contributions towards his ostensible cause, like saving this school because it would tremendously benefit underprivileged youth (or even trying to drum up fundraising support), is apparently too much to ask.

oh my god what are you even talking about? It's a private school, if they can't get students and funding it's their own problem. Do you blame Fulop for you Taco Bell farts as well? Get a grip, man.

Yvonne wrote:One thing you missed RCResident, I never said to use public funds or public lands. I said the city could have done a fundraiser for them. There are so many negative things associated with inner youth in JC, St. Anthony was a positive thing. In the video on Showtime, you could see how much the youth loved their school. I am sorry it is not available for the next generation. Our youth needs direction and St. Anthony HS gave them that.